Posts with tag cinematical 7
Posted Jul 15th 2008 10:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, New Releases, Warner Brothers, Cinematical Seven, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Christopher Nolan's "real world" Batman is the best thing to happen to the character since, frankly, Frank Miller's
The Dark Knight Returns. If there's one flaw in the series thus far, it is that Nolan's Batman is just a little too solitary, a little too dour. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his choice of female companions -- or rather, the lack thereof.
Now, Nolan deserves a round of applause for inventing the character of Rachel Dawes. Such professional, intelligent and classy women are rare in action movies, let alone those inspired by the superhero genre. Regardless of what you think of Katie Holmes' performance, the character of Dawes was real, which made Bruce Wayne's feelings for her that much more special. But really -- is Dawes the only woman in all of Gotham City? It sure seems like it. And what if Rachel and Bruce call it quits? What will Batman do for female companionship? And if Dawes does stick around, wouldn't it be great to see that there are other cool chicks in Gotham City? Adding another woman or two, and a bit of romantic friction (just a bit -- I trust that Nolan wouldn't go too far with the mushy stuff) would take off some of Batman's dour edge. And so, here are seven chicks ripped from the comic pages that I would like to see appear in Nolan's franchise. (And a special thanks to Alan Kistler of
ComicMix for helping me out on this one.) They appear after the jump, and as always, feel free to chime in with your own picks below!
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: The Gotham City Gals
Posted May 27th 2008 11:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Classics, Fandom, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Cinematical Seven, Remakes and Sequels
Warning: This post does contain lots of Crystal Skull spoilers. Read at your own risk.Whether you loved
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or hated it, dreaded its arrival or could barely sleep at night in anticipation, I think we can all agree there are some things that we're really glad didn't happen. With George Lucas' oft-quoted desire for "wackiness," and with his
Star Wars prequels being rife with mythology rewrites and well, "wackiness," there was cause for concern. I'm one of the individuals who didn't care for the film, but upon leaving, I knew it could have been a lot worse. My friends, who varied between loving, liking, and hating, agreed -- there could have been so many horrible things. For example, the much-maligned monkeys and prairie dogs could have broken out in a spontaneous and extended dance number, and the aliens could have appeared as Indy's father. So, this Cinematical Seven is the result of our roundtable rantings -- and, as always, I am anxious to hear your own ...
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Things That, Thankfully, Didn't Happen in 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'.
Posted Apr 29th 2008 10:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Classics, Family Films, Cinematical Seven, Lists
Long before I was a Cinematical blogger, before I even went to college, I worked in the children's department of Barnes and Noble. It was a daily adventure, filled with germs, the beginning of the Harry Potter craze, impossible shelving arrangements, and fuzzy character suits (of which I was the inevitable wearer of). But I developed a real fondness for children's literature – or rather, rediscovered it, as I came across every book that had made me who I am today. And thanks to Harry Potter, not only are children's books doing bigger business than ever before, the trend has thankfully been towards literary adaptations on the big screen. So in honor of April's Nim's Island, May's Prince Caspian, and the eventual Where the Wild Things Are, here are the seven children's books that need to be put into production tomorrow. To my surprise, a few of these have already been made, but were either forgotten, badly made, or in need of a remake. (My opinion only -- and I apologize in advance if, say, 1969's version of My Side of the Mountain is one of your childhood favorites, you think it should remain untouched.)
I have to say, though, choosing only seven was incredibly difficult. It was a tough call between The Trumpet of the Swan and The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Jackaroo and The Black Cauldron. As I was writing it, friends and family kept throwing in even more selections. So I hope this reawakens the memories of your childhood favorites -- and I can't wait to hear about the ones you'd like to see onscreen too!
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Children's Books That Need To Be Filmed Immediately
Posted Oct 17th 2007 9:02PM by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Filed under: Horror, Cinematical Seven, Lists
Sexy is as sexy does, I guess. Picking the hottest chicks of horror is a pretty tricky business. Not only are my picks completely subjective, slaves to my personal whims and moods, but also they are likely to change from day to day. Already, since I submitted my picks, I'm regretting not mentioning Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, or Eihi Shiina in Audition. And what can I do with more obscure hotties from other eras like Jenny Wright in Near Dark, or Britt Ekland in the original The Wicker Man, or Simone Simon in Cat People? Do they not deserve a shot at hotness? Well, in any case, here are the seven I wound up with -- in chronological order -- and in all honesty, they're all pretty darn easy on the eyes and a little spooky besides.
1. Fay Wray in King Kong
In a movie entirely populated by men and beasts, Fay is a welcome bit of softness. If King Kong had been made two years later, the Hays Code would have required Fay to wear a high-necked negligee with bloomers and probably several other layers of underthings. But thankfully for generations of young boys, the film was made in 1933, and Fay was able to wear her flimsy, silky number that clung and flapped in the breeze. Likewise, the movie was better able to suggest the subversive relationship between beauty and beast. (Watch the trailer ... or head straight to the gallery!)
2. Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Elsa was the ultimate goth chick in cinema. Many came in her wake, including Barbara Steele (Black Sunday) and the little known but easily recognizable Carroll Borland (Mark of the Vampire). But make no mistake: even without her two-foot fright wig with the silver piping up the side, Elsa was a hottie in her time. You can see it in the film's prologue; she plays Mary Shelley, freshly emerged from penning her chilling magnum opus. She has cat eyes, and a devilish grin that entrances even the strongest men. One question: if Dr. Frankenstein was able to build such a sex bomb, why did his male monster come out so ugly and blocky? (Watch the trailer ... or head straight to the gallery!)
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Continue reading Cinematical Seven: Hottest Chicks of Horror
Posted Oct 4th 2006 1:02PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: Action, Classics, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Cinematical Seven, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Games and Game Movies
Just about every big-budget mega-movie gets its very own video game tie-in, from
Harry Potter and
Narnia to
Spider-Man and
Lord of the Rings. Used to be that 92% of these movie-license games were grade-A certifiable crap, but we've come a long way since then. (Nowadays it's only about 55%.) One of the newest (and lovably geekiest) trends in video games is the "retro" approach, which is what I call it when someone says "Hey, you know what old movie would make for a great video game?
Mannequin!" before heading off to design a video game in which you're required to collect hundreds of dismembered mannequin parts while avoiding the affections of a harrowingly annoying homosexual stereotype and thwarting the nefarious schemes of a bizarrely prissy
James Spader.
Fortunately, nobody's gotten it into their head to make a video game out of
Mannequin, but there have been some really slick video games based on some really cool "old" movies. But let's get one turkey out of the way first:
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: The "Retro-Movie" Video Games
